Facilitators are guides, not helicopters

It’s up to facilitators to provide a structure, then step away and facilitate like a guide, not a helicopter.

Jacinta Cubis16 March 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

A year ago…

One year ago, I was excited about speaking at a conference in New Zealand. This year, I’ll be beaming into the homes of people all over Canada.

Jacinta Cubis9 March 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Squeaky wheels don’t always get the grease

A common concern for clients from any sector is how to handle the ‘squeaky wheels’ who they are worried about coming to their roundtable or workshop.

Jacinta Cubis2 March 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

The ‘why’ gap

Without a 'why', there can be a big gap between your sense of purpose and that of your participants in a workshop.

Jacinta Cubis23 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Mixed business

A workshop with a mixed purpose feels a bit the same as a mixed business store. There’s too much on the agenda and we get distracted and don’t have time to explore any of the ‘purposes’ in a meaningful way.

Jacinta Cubis16 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Workshop or workout?

Does your workshop sometimes feel like more of a workout?

Jacinta Cubis9 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Time.

Is time on your side when facilitating workshops? We may not be able to control time, but we can make better use of it.

Jacinta Cubis2 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Why workshops are like films

Ingmar Bergman said, ‘I write scripts to serve as skeletons awaiting the flesh and sinew of images’. This is a helpful way to think about how we design workshops. I think the design serves as the scaffolding to build free and open conversations. The sort that are needed to solve complex problems, make decisions and collaborate.

Jacinta Cubis27 January 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

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